Toronto's Cultural Assessment Management Group brings great Canadian animal sculptor and utility together!

Joe Fafard and his Winnipeg Bison

Sculptor Joe Fafard now has two large bronze bisons in Winnipeg

Two huge bronze bison now watch over the main lobby of Manitoba Hydro Place in downtown Winnipeg.

The fanciful sculptures, created by award-winning Canadian artist Joe Fafard, were revealed to the public at a special ceremony yesterday (Tuesday December 13). Each standing over 2.4 metres high and weighing over 450 kilograms, the double-sided sculptures were installed in alcoves on either side of the Graham Avenue entrance to the building, and gaze both inwards to the main floor gallery and outwards to the street.
Cultural Asset Management Group, a Toronto firm owned by Shelley Falconer and Shawna White, two well-known Canadian art experts are under contract to help the public utility establish this vibrant public art program.  Culural Asset Management Group has worked with Mr. Fafard on previous occassions and facilitated this outstanding commission.

The statues installed in Winnipeg are the first of an eventual six that will grace Hydro's headquarters. Two more adult bison statues will be placed in similar alcoves at the building's Portage Avenue entrance, while one bronze bison calf will be placed outdoors near each entrance, under the watchful gaze of the adults.

"Being able to feature works from an artist of Mr. Fafard's stature is a tremendous opportunity, and to have him create something that is so unique yet at the same time so representative of Manitoba, is very exciting. It's only fitting that the award-winning Manitoba Hydro Place feature artwork from a similarly prominent and world-renowned artist" said Bob Brennan, President and CEO of Manitoba Hydro.

"At Manitoba Hydro, we are proud to be able to use the public spaces of our building to showcase and support Canadian artists."

Born and raised in Ste. Marthe, Saskatchewan, Fafard graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg in 1966, before going on to complete a Masters of Arts at Pennsylvania State University in 1968. While studying close to New York City, he spent much time at the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art and the Museum of Modern Art. He was inspired to explore ceramics while teaching sculpture and pottery at the University of Saskatchewan in Regina. In 1974 when he resigned from teaching, he devoted all his time to sculpture. He earned his first large commission, the Toronto Dominion Bank's new public art installation in 1984, then in 1985 he opened his own foundry, Julienne Atelier Inc.

Fafard said he often chooses prairie animals as his subjects, such as cows, bulls, and horses because they have the ability to remind us that we all share the same resources on this planet, and that in this way we can understand the relationship we have with nature, through agriculture. These prairie animals act as muse and also pay homage to the land and the community.

"I hope that having people see something that gives them some awe for a fellow creature can translate into some care for the environment," Fafard said.
 Cultural Assets Management Group  provides integrated art management services to private collectors, corporations, governments and the non-for-profit community. Here in Toronto CAM has provided art management services to the Toronto District School Board in support of their large and valuable art collection. The company, located in the GTA, stores valuable art and artefact collections in a secure, 30,000 sq ft environment, and provides consulting services across Canada.

For Further Information:

Stephen Weir
Stephen Weir & Associates | stephen@stephenweir.com
or sweir5492@rogers.com
2482 Yonge Street, Unit 45032, Toronto, ONT.
CANADA. M4P 3E3
Tel: 416-489-5868 | Fax: 416-488-6518
www.stephenweir.com